This was a revolution in Russia in which Trar Nicholas II was overthrown and a Provisional Government was established. Due to inflation, decline in real wages, deteriorating working conditions, and shortages of food, with an underlying resentment for the bad treatment by the government in the past despite (despite their importance), workers began to protest. Shortly after this revolution, the Marxist Bolsheviks rose to power over the Provisional Government.
Petrograd Bread Riots --
Petrograd Bread Riots- On March 8, International Women’s day, women textile workers poured into the streets shouting “Bread!” Other Petrograd workers quickly joined and within two days over 200,000 strikers brought everyday life to a standstill. After being informed of the mounting chaos in the capital, Nicholas II telegraphed back that order should be restored. The city’s military commander ordered police and troops to disperse demonstrators, shooting at them if necessary. But after some shooting, the key turning point occurred. Soldiers in one regiment after another refused to simply with orders and instead joined the demonstrators. After realizing he had lost control of Petrograd and the support of key military and political leaders, Nicholas II abdicated the throne on March 15.
In early March 1917, the working class in Petrograd rioted against the government for "treating them so shabbily" even though they had helped the war effort. On March 8, it started and two days later over 200,000 workers were on strike.
Due to inflation, decline in real wages, deteriorating working conditions, and shortages of food, with an underlying resentment for the bad treatment by the government in the past despite (despite their importance), workers began to protest. Starting with International Women’s Day (March 8), protestors began to fill the streets shouting “Bread!” Over the next few days, other workers joined the protest to create a force of over 200,000 strikers. The turning point in the protest came after soldiers fired at demonstrators in order to disperse them: more and more soldiers began to side with the demonstrators and refuse to follow orders. Nicholas II, having realized his loss in control, abdicated the throne on March 15.
Provisional Government --
This was the government which was established after Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown. Eight months later, the Marxist Bolsheviks took power. During the reign of the Provisional Government, many people sought more freedom and justice. Around May of 1917, representatives of the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries became cabinet members.
Petrograd Soviet --
The council led by moderate Marxist Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, which opposed and rivaled the Provisional government. Leon Trotsky became chairman in 1917.
Vladimir Lenin --
He was the leader of the Bolsheviks who had become an opponent of the tsar after the execution of his brother (for revolutionary activities). Lenin became a Marxist at the age of 20, and soon began revolutionary activity. In 1903, he helped split Russian Marxists into the Menshevik and Bolshevik factions. Lenin did not trust the working class (critics often saying he was too dictatorial). Became chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars after the November Revolution.
Bolshevik --
A faction of Russian Marxism which demanded a small, well-disciplined, party of dedicated revolutionaries. Led by Vladimir Lenin.
Menshevik --
A faction of Russian Marxism which favored a large, broad-based workers’ party
November Revolution (1917) --
A revolution caused by Lenin’s demand for the takeover of power in which troops, led by the majorly Bolshevik Petrograd Soviet, took control of many public services, and finally broke into the Winter Palace only to force surrender upon members of the Provisional Government. Led to the commissioning of Lenin as chairman of the council of People’s Commissars and Trotsky as commissar of foreign affairs.
Leon Trotsky --
Became chairman of Petrograd Soviet after becoming a Bolshevik in 1917. Became commissar of foreign affairs. Was the head of the red army in the Russian Civil War against the white army.
Russian Civil War --
With the support of the Allies, Russian anti-Communist armies (White armies) schallenged the Soviet government in a full-scale civil war. The war lasted for over two years. The Red army prevailed making Allies look like fools.
New Economic Policy (NEP) --
Having beaten out their “white” opposition, the Communists inherited crippled Russia. To improve the state of Russia, the government enacted a New Economic Policy in 1921. The NEP placed control of “industry, transportation, banking, foreign trade, and most wholesale trade” into the hands of the government. The major difference between the NEP and the “war communism,” instated by them earlier, was the new allowance of “private enterprise in small industries and retail trade.” The peasants greatly benefitted from this: they received the right to sell their produce (after some amount of taxation) on the open market. The NEP was a great success.
Joseph Stalin --
A longtime Marxist, Stalin was made general secretary of the communist Party when the office was created in 1922. A year later, Lenin said that Stalin was “’too rude,’” and that he should be replaced by someone “’more patient, more loyal, more courteous, and more considerate of his comrades’”; however, because of his stroke, Lenin was unable to replace Stalin. Using his position as general secretary and the manipulation of other major political figures, Stalin was able to strengthen and increase his control over the Communist party. Stalin was Trotsky’s main opponent, and eventually expelled him from the party. ‘Stalinism’
Five Year Plan -
Would increase control of the Communist party over the economy and over the lives of soviet citizens. Inaugurated in late 1928 and ended a year early in late 1932.
Collectivization –
Would increase control of the Communist party over the economy and over the lives of soviet citizens. Stalin tried to (and eventually succeeded) push peasants into collectives, in which workers would work the farmland jointly, pay the correct amount in taxation, and divide the remaining produce (proportionally to the amount and/or quality of work) amongst the workers. The collectives were pretty much unanimously unpopular amongst peasants. The period of collectivization extended past the Five Year Plan. Russian peasants produced more food before collectivization than after.
Kulak -- A designation of peasants who were “supposedly prosperous peasants guilty of hoarding” by Stalin.
Purges--The "Great Purge" was a series of campaigns of political persecution in the Soviet Union, orchestrated by Joseph Stalin in 1936–1938.It involved a large-scale"purge" of the Communist Party and repression of peasants. These were shown in widespread police surveillance, suspicion of "saboteurs", imprisonment, and executions.
Second Five-Year Plan
Soviet Union went ahead with it in 1932 but it officially started in 1933
Heavy industry became the top priority which placed USSR behind Germany as one of the major steel producing countries of the world
Communication became faster
It was not successful
The focus of the planners' preferences replaced consumer preferences in the Soviet economy, with an emphasis on military goods and heavy industry
This resulted in a much lower quality and quantity of available consumer goods
“Socialist Realism”- From 1933-1939, Stalin introduced socialist realism, which is basically that artists and writers had to portray reality the way socialists wanted them to. This usually meant the image of workers overcoming obstacles in order to better the Soviet Union.
The Great Terror-- Stalin created a system of totalitarian rule. Intensive police terror, false show trials, and bloody purges culminated in the Great Terror of 1936 - 1938, which resulted in a complete overhaul of political leaders on both national and local levels in the country. Although exact figures still remain uncertain, between 200,000 and 240,000 prominent party members were expelled during the years of the Great Terror. A high percentage of these individuals either were executed or disappeared into forced-labor camps. Of the 139 members of the Soviet Union’s Central Committee that were elected in 1934, 70 percent were arrested and killed. And by 1939, most of the revolutionaries who had participated in the Socialist struggle in 1917 had been exterminated and replaced by less powerful individuals. Millions more, peasants and intellectuals alike, found themselves in Siberian forced-labor camps that were the backbones of the industrialization movement
Fascism (Chpt 11 and 16)
Mussolini- Originally he was socialist, but was kicked out. He started the fascist party and by us of violence and threatening that fascists would march on Rome he gained control of the Italian government. He believed in a strict government in order to retain discipline and order.
Fascism - the political view that all people are not created equal, that some people (heroes) should be given authority over the masses (stupid sheep) in order to advance society and control the direction of history. All things exist in relation to the state, so what is good for the advancement of the state is good for all things; this means that one must be imperialist and willing to play their role.
Weimar Republic- a democratic constitution adopted in 1919 at Weimar, Germany that remained in effect until 1933. The constitution still kept Germany in a state of instability . Germany was politically instable under the system due to the representation under the Weimar Republic which allowed parties to receive seats in proportion to the votes each party gained in the election. This inevitably allowed a coalition government that usually fell apart quickly.
Freikorps-
former German military leaders from WWI started their own armies that helped defend borders against Red Army invasions and try to stop German Revolution. These private armies were called Freikorps, which disbanded in 1921.
Kapp Putch--attempted coup by the rightist forces to overthrow the Weimar. It took place in March of 1920 in Berlin and was headed by the rightist military forces which were in control for a couple of days, but it eventually failed when the Socialist Party and trade unions began general strikes.
Beer-Hall Putch: The attempted coup by the Nazi party beginning in Munich. It failed and Hitler and other leaders were jailed.
Hitler
Nazism
Reichstag Fire: In 1933, the Reichstag building was set on fire by the Nazi party in Germany. This building housed the German parliament, and this is seen as the event that cemented the Nazi's power in Germany. Hitler had been named Chancellor of Germany just four weeks before.
Enabling Act
Night of the Long Knives -
June, 30, 1934. On this night, Hitler sent his elite guards (Schutzstaffel/ SS/ black shirts) to kill the Storm Troopers, led by Ernst Röhm, and other non-Nazi political opponents.
Nuremberg Laws
a series of laws enacted at an annual Nazi gathering called the Nuremberg Rally. these laws were totally anti semitic, and were designed to try to stop Jews from breeding with Germans, to try and keep Aryan blood pure, as well as classifying the Jews as non Germans
Crystal Night- Also known as Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. On the night of November 9, 1938, there was German-caused violence against Jews and destruction of their businesses, synagogues, and other property. The violence, instigated by Joseph Goebbels, left 91 Jews dead and hundreds seriously injured. The name is a reference to the broken glass that lay in the streets during the aftermath of the destruction.
Lateran Agreement -- granted the Holy See in Italy sovereignty. Made Roman Catholicism the only religion of Italy, and recognized independence of Vatican City.
“Corporate State”-- a state that would overcome class conflict by bringing representatives of employers, employees, and the government together in corporations to decide on such questions as wages and working hours.
- March Revolution (1917) --
- This was a revolution in Russia in which Trar Nicholas II was overthrown and a Provisional Government was established. Due to inflation, decline in real wages, deteriorating working conditions, and shortages of food, with an underlying resentment for the bad treatment by the government in the past despite (despite their importance), workers began to protest. Shortly after this revolution, the Marxist Bolsheviks rose to power over the Provisional Government.
- Petrograd Bread Riots --
- Petrograd Bread Riots- On March 8, International Women’s day, women textile workers poured into the streets shouting “Bread!” Other Petrograd workers quickly joined and within two days over 200,000 strikers brought everyday life to a standstill. After being informed of the mounting chaos in the capital, Nicholas II telegraphed back that order should be restored. The city’s military commander ordered police and troops to disperse demonstrators, shooting at them if necessary. But after some shooting, the key turning point occurred. Soldiers in one regiment after another refused to simply with orders and instead joined the demonstrators. After realizing he had lost control of Petrograd and the support of key military and political leaders, Nicholas II abdicated the throne on March 15.
- In early March 1917, the working class in Petrograd rioted against the government for "treating them so shabbily" even though they had helped the war effort. On March 8, it started and two days later over 200,000 workers were on strike.
- Due to inflation, decline in real wages, deteriorating working conditions, and shortages of food, with an underlying resentment for the bad treatment by the government in the past despite (despite their importance), workers began to protest. Starting with International Women’s Day (March 8), protestors began to fill the streets shouting “Bread!” Over the next few days, other workers joined the protest to create a force of over 200,000 strikers. The turning point in the protest came after soldiers fired at demonstrators in order to disperse them: more and more soldiers began to side with the demonstrators and refuse to follow orders. Nicholas II, having realized his loss in control, abdicated the throne on March 15.
- Provisional Government --
- This was the government which was established after Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown. Eight months later, the Marxist Bolsheviks took power. During the reign of the Provisional Government, many people sought more freedom and justice. Around May of 1917, representatives of the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries became cabinet members.
- Petrograd Soviet --
- The council led by moderate Marxist Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, which opposed and rivaled the Provisional government. Leon Trotsky became chairman in 1917.
- Vladimir Lenin --
- He was the leader of the Bolsheviks who had become an opponent of the tsar after the execution of his brother (for revolutionary activities). Lenin became a Marxist at the age of 20, and soon began revolutionary activity. In 1903, he helped split Russian Marxists into the Menshevik and Bolshevik factions. Lenin did not trust the working class (critics often saying he was too dictatorial). Became chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars after the November Revolution.
- Bolshevik --
- A faction of Russian Marxism which demanded a small, well-disciplined, party of dedicated revolutionaries. Led by Vladimir Lenin.
- Menshevik --
- A faction of Russian Marxism which favored a large, broad-based workers’ party
- November Revolution (1917) --
- A revolution caused by Lenin’s demand for the takeover of power in which troops, led by the majorly Bolshevik Petrograd Soviet, took control of many public services, and finally broke into the Winter Palace only to force surrender upon members of the Provisional Government. Led to the commissioning of Lenin as chairman of the council of People’s Commissars and Trotsky as commissar of foreign affairs.
- Leon Trotsky --
- Became chairman of Petrograd Soviet after becoming a Bolshevik in 1917. Became commissar of foreign affairs. Was the head of the red army in the Russian Civil War against the white army.
- Russian Civil War --
- With the support of the Allies, Russian anti-Communist armies (White armies) schallenged the Soviet government in a full-scale civil war. The war lasted for over two years. The Red army prevailed making Allies look like fools.
- New Economic Policy (NEP) --
- Having beaten out their “white” opposition, the Communists inherited crippled Russia. To improve the state of Russia, the government enacted a New Economic Policy in 1921. The NEP placed control of “industry, transportation, banking, foreign trade, and most wholesale trade” into the hands of the government. The major difference between the NEP and the “war communism,” instated by them earlier, was the new allowance of “private enterprise in small industries and retail trade.” The peasants greatly benefitted from this: they received the right to sell their produce (after some amount of taxation) on the open market. The NEP was a great success.
- Joseph Stalin --
- A longtime Marxist, Stalin was made general secretary of the communist Party when the office was created in 1922. A year later, Lenin said that Stalin was “’too rude,’” and that he should be replaced by someone “’more patient, more loyal, more courteous, and more considerate of his comrades’”; however, because of his stroke, Lenin was unable to replace Stalin. Using his position as general secretary and the manipulation of other major political figures, Stalin was able to strengthen and increase his control over the Communist party. Stalin was Trotsky’s main opponent, and eventually expelled him from the party. ‘Stalinism’
- Five Year Plan -
- Would increase control of the Communist party over the economy and over the lives of soviet citizens. Inaugurated in late 1928 and ended a year early in late 1932.
- Collectivization –
- Would increase control of the Communist party over the economy and over the lives of soviet citizens. Stalin tried to (and eventually succeeded) push peasants into collectives, in which workers would work the farmland jointly, pay the correct amount in taxation, and divide the remaining produce (proportionally to the amount and/or quality of work) amongst the workers. The collectives were pretty much unanimously unpopular amongst peasants. The period of collectivization extended past the Five Year Plan. Russian peasants produced more food before collectivization than after.
- Kulak -- A designation of peasants who were “supposedly prosperous peasants guilty of hoarding” by Stalin.
- Purges--The "Great Purge" was a series of campaigns of political persecution in the Soviet Union, orchestrated by Joseph Stalin in 1936–1938.It involved a large-scale"purge" of the Communist Party and repression of peasants. These were shown in widespread police surveillance, suspicion of "saboteurs", imprisonment, and executions.
- Second Five-Year Plan
- Soviet Union went ahead with it in 1932 but it officially started in 1933
- Heavy industry became the top priority which placed USSR behind Germany as one of the major steel producing countries of the world
- Communication became faster
- It was not successful
- The focus of the planners' preferences replaced consumer preferences in the Soviet economy, with an emphasis on military goods and heavy industry
- This resulted in a much lower quality and quantity of available consumer goods
- “Socialist Realism”- From 1933-1939, Stalin introduced socialist realism, which is basically that artists and writers had to portray reality the way socialists wanted them to. This usually meant the image of workers overcoming obstacles in order to better the Soviet Union.
- The Great Terror-- Stalin created a system of totalitarian rule. Intensive police terror, false show trials, and bloody purges culminated in the Great Terror of 1936 - 1938, which resulted in a complete overhaul of political leaders on both national and local levels in the country. Although exact figures still remain uncertain, between 200,000 and 240,000 prominent party members were expelled during the years of the Great Terror. A high percentage of these individuals either were executed or disappeared into forced-labor camps. Of the 139 members of the Soviet Union’s Central Committee that were elected in 1934, 70 percent were arrested and killed. And by 1939, most of the revolutionaries who had participated in the Socialist struggle in 1917 had been exterminated and replaced by less powerful individuals. Millions more, peasants and intellectuals alike, found themselves in Siberian forced-labor camps that were the backbones of the industrialization movement
Fascism (Chpt 11 and 16)